Geely News

A new game-changing hybrid engine is coming. The D20 Methanol is a range-extender engine made by global automotive engineering firm Horse Powertrain, a joint venture between Renault and Geely. Horse makes a range of engines, electric motors and transmissions for Renault Group, Geely, Volvo, Proton, Nissan and Mitsubishi. Its latest engine burns 100 per cent methanol fuel, opposed to ethanol alternatives in current mainstream petrol engines. The engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit that produces 105kW (weighing 170kg) to charge the battery.Its sole purpose is to power the battery, with a lightweight electric motor responsible for driving the wheels. The disk-shaped electric motor lies flat, meaning it is 46 per cent shorter than vertically-mounted alternatives.It is said to have 63 per cent better power density, but Horse has not revealed the engine's total power output yet.Horse claims a 40kWh battery can be recharged using less than 20L of methanol fuel, making it one of the most efficient electrified set-ups on the market.  The set-up generates 1kWh of electricity for every 2.1kWh of methanol burned, and can perform cold starts in temperatures as low as -35-degrees. The engine also has less emissions output. It complies with the European Union’s Euro 7 standard, which will become the benchmark later this year. What will the D20 Methanol engine be used in? It is unclear what this new engine will be used for, with Horse remaining coy on which of its carmaker clients will receive it. Range-extenders have become increasingly popular in China, especially in large SUVs, and the D20 could be the latest example of this. Geely might be looking to gain an advantage over other range-extender competition, the Leapmotor D19 and Volkswagen ID. Era 9X.China produces the majority of the world’s production of methanol, and is now heavily investing in renewable ethanol as opposed to coal-based.A low-emissions methanol-fueled car could be ahead of the curve in China for Geely.  There is potential for models featuring this new range-extender set-up to come to Australia in the coming years, but nothing is confirmed at this stage.

Small cars and light cars aren’t nearly as popular as they once were, but that could be changing thanks to the increasing accessibility of electric cars, said one new brand’s product boss.Geely's Director of Product Planning and Marketing Andrew Tuitahi said he sees “promising signs” for small and light car segments.While the sales figures aren’t proof at this stage, with EVs making people consider a smaller car than they might otherwise buy.“I can't say that it's saved, but there's definitely some promising signs,” Tuitahi told CarsGuide. “The unique thing that ‘new energy’, battery electric plug-in hybrids are doing is causing people to reconsider.”Tuitahi said the downsides once associated with light and small cars are more and more being addressed by new compact EVs, after earlier in the day having pointed out the healthy list of features in the Geely EX2.“So a lot of the compromises that you typically make if you were going to buy a b-segment or a light hatchback - things like drivetrain, power, performance, safety, style, you know, space - a lot of those things are solved with a battery electric platform. “So I think consumers are able to prioritise maybe some features by sacrificing a segment, but still getting that same space.”While the EX2 does cover much of the above, it should be pointed out its entry grade has a very modest 60kW output in the base Complete variant, or 80kW in the Inspire.Tuitahi added that along with the price and the overall size of the car, the range of a small EV is less a priority than it would be in larger EVs that are more likely to be used on long trips.“It really depends on the use case,” he said.“So we'd be encouraging our dealers to work with customers to help identify how they're going to be using their cars and whether or not they need that range. “You know… looking at the average kilometers traveled, certainly someone charging once a week would be within that range for an EX2. “Someone who can trickle charge every day is never going to be less than 70 or 80 per cent battery. So, it really comes down to use case.”

The Australian car industry is in the middle of a major shake-up and not all brands are likely to survive it. In fact, I’d go so far as to say some of the biggest name brands, car makers we have loved for decades, may disappear within the next five years.That’s the hard reality of the dramatic change that is sweeping the industry. The new wave of Chinese car brands have arrived and quickly established themselves with solid market share. But that share has to come from somewhere and the reality is, the brands that are feeling the squeeze more than any other are those smack dab at the heart of the market.Looking at the sales data for the first half of 2026 it’s clear who are the biggest winners and losers. Geely is up 494.6 per cent, BYD has risen 124.1 per cent and Chery sales are 76.8 per cent improved, plus both GWM, MG, Omoda-Jaecoo and Zeekr are also increasing their presence.So where are those buyers coming from? Well, Toyota is down 21.4 per cent, Mazda is 17.2 per cent down and Ford has dropped 10.6 per cent. But I’m not suggesting any of those brands are doomed, Toyota is confident of a second half bounce back and Ford remains atop the all-important ute market. Instead, the bigger concern are the brands in the middle and lower half of the top 10, which are shedding sales at a higher rate and face increasing and long-term pressure from the newer arrivals. Nissan has dropped 32.8 per cent, Mitsubishi is down 25.7 per cent, Subaru down 25.6 per cent and Volkswagen has dropped 16.5 per cent, and there is no clear pathway for them to regain so much lost ground.While I’ve been talking strictly in sale percentage terms, the raw numbers don’t make good reading for those brands. BYD is obviously having a huge year, notching over 52,000 sales, but it’s brands like Geely (10,970 sales), Omoda-Jaecoo (8808) and even Zeekr (5835) that are starting to make serious in-roads on the likes Subaru (14,817), Nissan (13,854) and Volkswagen (12,333).In simple terms, the Australia new car pie is only so big, it typically hovers around the 1.2 million mark each year, so the slice of pie for each brand will get smaller as more and more brands enter the market. Short of a sudden and dramatic expansion of the number of people buying new cars, all of the established brands will need to get comfortable selling less volume. Brands will need to adapt to this new world order to survive and not just the so-called ‘legacy’ brands like Nissan, Subaru, etc, but also the new, predominantly Chinese brands. Since 2021 there have been more than a dozen new brands enter the market from China alone and there are more coming, with Forthing, Lepas, iCaur and Jetour all confirmed for Australia.There simply aren’t enough buyers to make more than 70 car brands viable in Australia so get used to hearing announcements like we have recently with Peugeot and Fiat about ‘reevaluating’ or ‘restructuring’ or just plain ‘leaving’ the Australian market for good.Ultimately who survives and who doesn’t will come down to you, the new car customer, as your choice will dictate which brands maintain enough sales to remain viable - and which ones fade away.

Where are you right now? Because that’s where you were when you found out that the price of EVs globally fell below those of hybrids in this historic first for the auto industry.According to a report from car industry analytics company Mobility Global which studied pricing automotive data from around the world the average price of electric vehicles has not only fallen dramatically but has now even dropped below that of hybrids.The report shows that the average global price of an electric car is $52,373, a decrease of nine per cent compared to 2020 EV prices. At the same time the global average price of hybrids increased to $55,204 making them more expensive than EV for the first time.Mobility Global cites the lower cost of EV batteries and the rapid expansion of affordable Chinese electric vehicles on offer as the main drivers of the price decrease.The price of lithium which goes into high-voltage EV batteries has dropped due to a surplus in China which controls about 80 per cent of the market. The cost of an EV’s battery accounts for about 40 percent of the car’s total build price. The lower lithium prices have caused the price of batteries to drop by an estimated 37 per cent since 2020.Australia has recently seen an enormous uptake of EVs. June and July this year saw EV sales break records, securing more than 20 per cent of the market in both months.  While prices have fallen vastly in Australia CarsGuide calculated the average price of EVs is still slightly above those of hybrids locally. Using pricing data from August, 2026 CarsGuide calculated the average price of battery electric vehicles to be approximately $100,135, down from approximately $104,091 in August, 2025. We also calculated the average price of hybrids (including plug-in hybrids) in August, 2026 - approximately $93,767, that’s down from approximately $98,682 in August, 2025.Sounds high? Well, as a reference point CarsGuide also found that the average price of petrol cars in Australia is approximately $90,545.All figures were calculated by dividing the sum total of prices for each category (BEV, hybrid, petrol) by the number of models (including the variants) within the category. That means even the super high end models are counted along with the very cheapest.Still, the price of EVs in Australia has never been so low. The BYD Atto 1 is the most affordable electric car in Australia at a list price of $23,990 for the Essential grade. This is followed by the Geely EX2 Complete for $26,490, the BYD Dolphin Essential at $29,990 and BYD Atto 2 for $31,990.  

Geely has powered up the sales chart in July, making the top 10 best-selling brands for the month.The Chinese brand launched in Australia in March 2025, and has approached the local market with a more methodical approach than its competitors. It has only introduced three models so far, contrasting BYD that already has more than 10 models on sale since its distribution takeover in July 2025.Despite this relatively small footprint, Geely captured 3.6 per cent of total new car sales in July.Geely has grown by more than 500 per cent in the first seven months of the year, compared to the same period in 2025.  Geely's success has largely been driven by the EX5 electric mid-size SUV that managed 2034 registrations last month - its best month yet. The Toyota RAV4-sized EX5 is Geely’s best-selling car on sale in Australia, with nearly 9000 sales so far this year.Starting from $41,990 (before on-road costs), it continues to outsell the smaller BYD Atto 3 ($39,990) and eat into the sales of petrol rivals such as the Mazda CX-5 ($39,990).There are limited other fully-electric rivals with similar dimensions to the EX5, potentially giving it an edge in showrooms. It’s not just the EX5 selling well for Geely, with its smaller EX2 sibling registering 474 examples in its first few weeks on sale.The brand only introduced its new hatch with a sharp $26,490 price tag in late July, making it one of the cheapest electric cars on the market. The EX2, which is the most popular car in China, even managed to shift more units than the BYD Dolphin ($29,990) in July.The Starray Em-i plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV is Geely’s other model on sale in Australia, also enjoying a strong sales return, with 1177 units finding new homes last month.It poses as a direct threat to the BYD Sealion 6 ($42,990) and the recently-launched Toyota RAV4 plug-in hybrid ($59,515), but is noticeably cheaper at $37,490. Geely will continue to introduce new models at its own pace, with potential for some activity before the end of the year.  The brand is expected to launch a mid-size and a large SUV in the first half of 2027, followed by the Emgrand plug-in hybrid sedan later on in the year. The Galaxy Cruiser large rugged 4WD is also expected to land Down Under before the end of next year. 

Australians are still buying cars in greater quantity than ever before, despite tough economic conditions.The new vehicle market recorded its strongest ever July result off the back of the same feat in June. Toyota has had a resurgent month up against its Chinese challengers BYD and Chery, led by its new-generation RAV4 SUV. Electric car sales are also showing no signs of slowing down in Australia, accounting for more than one-in-five cars sold. Chinese brands are becoming a staple high up the sales charts in Australia, with many budget-focused models continuing to drive sales. Toyota achieved 20,409 registrations for July, more than double what BYD managed.The Japanese juggernaut has taken out the top-two spots for July with its RAV4 family SUV and HiLux ute.The RAV4 has shot up the sale charts to take out pole position, with 5564 units, wrestling back against early supply issues plaguing the new version of the hugely popular family model. Plug-in hybrid variants of the RAV4 have received some serious attention from buyers, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the SUV's total sales.Toyota's HiLux ute was not far behind, boasting 4721 units and overtaking the Ford Ranger (4042) in July. The brand also experienced its best month in 2026 for its Land Cruiser Prado and 300 Series 4WDs.Fully-electric cars represented more than one-fifth of all sales in July, with rising fuel prices continuing to influence buyer choices.The Tesla Model Y registered another month as the best-selling EV in Australia, with 4644 units in July between its five- (2215) and six-seater (2429) variants according to EV Council data. BYD’s Sealion 7 mid-size SUV was another strong performer, with 2548 examples sold last month, keeping its tag as the brand’s best-selling model for another month.The Geely EX5 (2034) made another appearance in the top 10 best sellers, followed by the Zeekr 7X (1892). The Chery Tiggo 4 (2156) small SUV has continued its run as one of the best-selling small SUVs, holding off competition from the Hyundai Kona (2096) and Mazda CX-5 (1836).BYD held onto second position in the overall sales standings for July (7857), despite a noticeable drop-off from June. In addition to the Sealion 7, its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute registered another confident registration figure, with 1216 units, along with the Atto 2 small SUV (1214).Chery, Geely, GWM and MG all made the top 10 best-selling brands for the month.

The boss of the largest auto parts business in Thailand is on the frontline of Chinese expansion, and he has explained why Chinese companies are beating Japan and Europe at an alarming rate.Speaking to Nikkei Asia, Yeah Swee Chuan, CEO of Aapico Hitech, predicted the rise of Chinese automakers will lead to a rapid re-ordering of the industry, with the market share of combustion-engined (ICE) vehicles falling by about a third in the coming years.“They will win the war for sure” he told Nikkei, “You know why? All the people in the world, whether it’s European or anybody, they think of ICE and ICE and ICE. They are all ICE brain.”“The Chinese started up from EV. Their brain is EV, EV, EV.”China is now the dominant country of origin for new vehicles in Australia thanks to a massive array of new brands offering affordable and desirable products, with BYD, GWM, MG and Chery storming the top-10 vehicle charts.A big part of this rise is not just cheap cars like the small SUV segment-dominating Chery Tiggo 4, but also the rise of electric vehicles. As of July, EVs are now at a 16.4 per cent market share overall, with July alone seeing electric vehicles accounting for 36 per cent of sales.A similar story is playing out across our South East Asian neighbours, with EV market share reaching 15 per cent in Indonesia, 23 per cent in Thailand. The advance of electric vehicles has been less of a slam-dunk in Malaysia where market share is at 6.8 per cent (H1 2026), and the dominant market player is still Toyota-aligned Perodua, which has a 38.7 per cent market share.Even there EV market share has more than doubled year-on-year with Geely-aligned Proton holding second place in the market, and Jaecoo also leaping up the charts.Yeap predicts legacy automakers will need to increase their collaboration with Chinese automakers in order to survive.Yeap told Nikkei he thinks this explosive growth is because the perception of Chinese cars is turning in many of the markets his company operates in.“Three years ago when the Chinese cars came to Thailand everybody said they were junk but today, it’s not junk anymore. Their cars, the electronics, their systems and all that. Very advanced and the kids and young people love it,” he said.Yeap was of the opinion that the only market able to resist the surge of electrified vehicles from China would be the US as it increasingly uses trade barriers to isolate itself from the global auto market.Chinese automakers are storming the charts both here and overseas, it’s not necessarily good news for everyone, with the boss of Bartons Motor Group in Queensland, Mark Beitz, telling CarsGuide recently all is not well in the Australian market behind the glossy sales figures.He warned EV market share figures in July, which boosted market share to historic highs was largely due to artificial inflation thanks to deliveries being fulfilled that month from orders placed when fuel prices temporarily skyrocketed during the opening weeks of the Iran war.He also said profitability in the industry was hitting unprecedented lows due to huge amounts of inventory being dumped into the market by automakers and intense competition by “way too many brands”.While he alluded to the idea that some might not work in the long term, he was more positive about the chances of so-called legacy automakers like Nissan, who he predicted would adjust with new Chinese-built products, or Mitsubishi which would play to its strengths with the incoming and highly-anticipated Pajero 4WD and tactical adjustments to the Triton ute range. Both models are built in Thailand.Beitz agreed that the surge of Chinese automakers was changing buyer preferences, and ultimately once-giants from Japan would shrink in dealer footprint alongside their market share.Globally, Japanese giants are aware of the existential crisis facing them. Nissan has chosen to re-structure its business and orient its manufacturing footprint more towards its successful Chinese joint-ventures. Even bosses from Toyota are shaken, with Japan Automobile Association Chairman and Toyota Chief Industry Officer Koji Saito telling Automotive News “unless things change, we will not survive”.2026 is a year of a car industry in flux in Australia, with a major re-shuffling of the top-10 underway. It will be unsurprising to see four or five Chinese automakers supplant once-favourites from the list before the end of the year.

The cost of electric car charging has been the subject of much discussion.Fast charging remains one of the biggest hurdles to convincing potential buyers to make the EV switch.It is widely accepted fast charging an electric car is cheaper than filling up a petrol or diesel car.But just how much cheaper is it? The answer is complicated. There are several factors impacting the price you pay for public fast charging. The rate of pay is measured in dollars or cents per kWh. This rate fluctuates depending on whether you are charging in peak time or off-peak time, the same as with home electricity bills.The charger's kW output will impact how much you pay, generally the higher the max output the more you pay. There are circumstances where a slower rate of charge can be more expensive when comparing locations.This speed is altered if the terminal is charging multiple cars at once, but the price does not change. Unlike filling a fuel tank, an EV battery should rarely be fully charged, which is why manufacturers quote a 20 to 80 per cent charge time for DC charging.We’ve done our best to calculate how much it would cost for a 40kWh charge, which could equate to rougly 20 to 80 per cent for an average EV. This article only provides a rough guide and is not a wholly accurate representation of how much someone will pay to charge their EV. It only looks at DC charging of a minimum of 50kW. Charging station operators such as JOLT that only provide 25kW charging have not been included. Ampol has a major EV infrastructure outlay in Australia, but it does not publicly list its prices online, so it is not included. Tesla chargers can be used to charge non-Tesla cars, but are generally 10-15 cents more expensive than for a Tesla car.We have categorised charging rates into three categories. 50-75kW150kW-240kW300kW-plusTesla does not have a discernible number of available chargers for Sydney in the first two categories.Where a charging company has two or more power options within a band, the price per kWh has been averaged.The prices have been taken from the broader Sydney area during peak time on Wednesday 15th July 2026.Off-peak charging is more likely to be done using a home charger overnight.Price per kWh in Sydney NSW:Price for 40kWh

Aussies are going to be buying more Chinese cars than ever as exports boom.Our market is proving to be the perfect place for under-fire Chinese brands to move on from their oversaturated domestic market.Meanwhile, new Chinese government rules mean smaller Chinese automakers will have a better chance of becoming true competitors to bigger brands like BYD.Legislative changes have diminished the advantages of mass-production, reducing the profit on a single car sold for 200,000 yuan ($42,000) to just 3000 yuan (or $633) according to Auto Home.Brands now must look more closely at overseas markets, and Australia is standing out.Australia does not have a domestic car industry to protect so it does not impose the same expensive tariffs or rules as other markets, making it more attractive to some importers.Europe has had a series of up to 35 per cent tariffs in place on Chinese manufacturers importing EVs since late 2024 to encourage or protect local production.Thailand, one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world, has also introduced rules requiring two cars to be locally produced for every car imported.Chinese car exports surged by 65 per cent in the first half of 2026, with a whopping 5.1 million cars sold, via Auto Home.BYD and Chery have contributed nearly 2 million overseas sales between them so far this year.Virtually three-quarters of Chery’s total sales came from overseas in the first half of 2026.Many of these cars are coming to Australia as our market now sources more cars from China than it does from Japan.Nothing says this more than the current top 10 best-selling electric cars all being built in China. The BYD Sealion 7 electric mid-size SUV (from $54,000, before on-road costs) has been a raging success for the brand in Australia.Chery’s budget-friendly small SUVs the Tiggo 4 petrol/plugless hybrid (from $23,990, drive-away) and Jaecoo J5 EV ($36,990, drive-away) are some of the most popular cars on the roads today.The BYD Atto 1 hatchback is the cheapest new electric car in Australia, starting from $23,990 (before on-road costs). The larger Dolphin is also available from under $30,000.Chinese brands will continue to place further emphasis on Australia as they look to expand their local line-ups.Geely has already seen success with its EX5 electric mid-size SUV, but its methodical approach will see plenty more models hit showrooms in the next year.Brands like GAC and XPeng are also accelerating their launch plans as they feel the squeeze back home.

China’s Geely has signed a joint venture with Ford to begin shared production at the American carmaker’s production facility in Spain.The Chinese carmaker has conditionally agreed to acquire a 34 per cent stake in Ford’s Almussafes production plant near Valencia, Spain for €221 million (~A$360 million), per a filing with the Hong Kong Exchange.This newly established joint venture will begin in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals, and allow for renovations to boost annual production capacity to 500,000 vehicles.As it currently stands, this Spanish production facility only produces the Ford Kuga, which was previously offered in Australia as the Escape. Production of this mid-size SUV will continue.Beyond this, Ford has confirmed it will produce a new, European-focused “member of the global Bronco family” at the Spanish production facility in 2028.Little details are known about this new European-focused Bronco model, but previous reports have indicated it will be smaller than the full-sized model and potentially offer both electric and hybrid options.Geely also plans to begin production of two electric SUVs at the Spanish production facility in 2028.At this stage it’s unclear what these models will be as the only electric SUV the Chinese carmaker currently offers in Europe is the E5, which is called the EX5 in Australia.Lastly, a new “multi-energy family crossover” designed by Ford and jointly developed with Geely will launch in 2028.No details about this vehicle have been announced yet, but Ford says it will be engineered with its “signature capabilities and driving dynamics”.Geely over the past few years has been scaling its operations in markets outside of China, including in Australia. In the first half of 2026 it sold a total of 474,228 vehicles in overseas markets, which is up 158 per cent year-on-year.In Australia the Chinese carmarker sold a total of 10,970 vehicles in the first half of 2026, which is up 494.6 per cent year-on-year. It is now the 18th best-selling brand Down Under.Geely is far from the only Chinese carmaker that has been acquiring unused production capacity from legacy carmakers.Chery recently signed a non-binding agreement with Nissan to explore contract manufacturing at the Japanese carmaker’s production facility in Sunderland, UK.Stellantis, which owns brands like Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Ram, among others, decided earlier this year to share its manufacturing plants in Spain and France with its Chinese partners Leapmotor and Dongfend, respectively.